A home fit for a teacher
The Monument School District is building a house in hopes of attracting its next teacher. The tiny district in the northwest corner of Oregon’s Grant County serves 66 students from pre-kindergarten through high school. The lack of available housing in rural Oregon hurts employers’ ability to recruit for jobs, including in education. The district hopes the two-bedroom house it’s building with help from a $100,000 grant will sweeten the pot for prospective educators, who would be able to rent the property. If successful, the project in Monument could serve as a model for other rural school districts. (Justin Davis/Blue Mountain Eagle)
Dog doctors on deck for Eagle Cap Extreme
The Eagle Cap Extreme sled dog race is set for this week. The event features 31-mile, 100-mile and 200-mile distances, the latter of which is Oregon’s only qualifying race for the world-famous Iditarod and Yukon Quest. To keep all those pups at peak performance, five veterinarians will examine dogs prior to and during competition. Veterinarian Randy Greenshield said it’s rare for a vet to disqualify a dog from the race. “We don’t like to do that, but if it’s necessary for the health and safety of the dogs, we will,” he said. (Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain)
Rain puts third Vancouver shelter community on hold
Wet weather has stalled Vancouver’s plan to build a third Safe Stay shelter community downtown. Contractors have yet to complete site assessments necessary to begin design and construction, which was originally set to begin this month. The clusters of modular pallet shelters have boosted the temporary housing available to people transitioning out of homelessness in Southwest Washington, but some neighbors have still voiced concerns about crime and cleanliness. (Mia Ryder-Marks/The Columbian)
AAA forecasts stability for Oregon gas prices this year
A gallon of regular unleaded gasoline costs about $3.68 this week, according to AAA. That’s down about 20 cents from last month and down even more from when prices surged last year, partially due to the war in Ukraine. AAA spokesperson Marie Dodds said the nonprofit automotive organization is projecting calmer conditions in 2023, with gas prices likely staying more stable. (Jasmine Lewin/KLCC)
Preventing the next big flood in Echo
The city of Echo in Umatilla County was one of several that endured catastrophic flooding in 2020. Now, the city is working to prevent the next big flood from threatening lives and property with help from the Oregon Office of Emergency Management. Echo is anchoring trees and stabilizing riverbanks in an effort to hold off rising waters. It may also install levees sometime in the future. (Beau Glynn/East Oregonian)
